Unexpected Tide
by Ashes of Death
Summary: So close, yet so far away. When something vital is misplaced, will Riku ever be able to return home again? Dead end?...Rated mainly for language.
1. Lost

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts…nor any of it's characters.

Note: My first attempt at a Kingdom Hearts fic. Hope you enjoy this one. Forgive me for grammar mistakes and such (as always), and…This may end up being another "dead end" fic…'less of course you people like this one.

Warning: OOC…Erm…Not sure as of yet really what is in store for this fic…'cept the high probability of shounen-ai (Riku&Sora).

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Unexpected Tide

Chapter 01: Lost

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Blue. Blue as far as the eye can see. Such a lovely tint that is only more beautiful once one is submerged into its depths. It is a color that I can get lost in so easily, but not for the sheer fact that it's an attractive color…it runs deeper than just a 'favorite color' …To me, it is home. Whenever I gaze upon the wonderful hue, I feel a warm, satisfied glow that screams to me, 'this is where you belong.' Though, lately, my body has not been satisfied with just gazing. It yearns, aches to be submerged once more. But I—

"Riku!" My thoughts are dashed to pieces and I tear my gaze from the sea as a familiar figure runs towards me with that dopey grin. "Riku, what are you doing out here? You just walked off from the others suddenly…" I looked up at the brown-haired boy, with the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen, to see a small pout on his face, "I just wanted to think for a little while. Selphie wasn't helping." I frowned a little and the other boy chuckled, "Hehe, yeah…Say, Riku?"

"Yeah?" I replied with feigned interest as my attention had wandered back towards the sea. "I foun—"

"Heads up!" both of our heads turned towards the call and Sora could only let out a yelp before a blitzball made a firm 'dink' as it ricocheted off of the boy's head. The ball then hit the poupu tree that I was sitting on and landed with a 'sploosh' in the ocean water.

"Aw…"

"Sora!"

"Riku, you could have caught it, ya?"

I merely gave a shrug and slid off from the leaning tree as Wakka, Tidus and Selphie walked up. Wakka frowning at the loss of his ball, while Tidus and Selphie poked at Sora, who was still rubbing his head. Then the argument began, "Tidus, you owe me a new ball, man."

"What? It's not my fault—Sora was too slow to catch it!"

"But you _did_ kick the ball off in the wrong direction, Tidus!" Selphie decided to join in, grinning at the prospect of causing a little 'harmless' trouble. As the bickering continued, the ball also continued its journey further away from the island when a light bulb suddenly went off in my head. There was a chance that I would just make my longings worse, but I'm at the point where I don't really care anymore. I slip off my yellow and black shirt as I say with a hint of aggravation in my voice, "I'll go get the stupid ball." Everyone stops immediately, some gaping, and I jump off the ledge before anyone can question me.

As soon as my head became submerged my body felt alive again as many suppressed senses began to awake in my glorious surroundings. The cool temperature, the seeming loss of gravity, the colors and life—a small taste of freedom that my body so longs for! Despite the fact that I was in a state of bliss, my earlier statement was not forgotten. I moved swiftly as if I had a purpose, surfacing only for appearance, so that the others –if watching—wouldn't notice anything unusual. I caught up to the blue and white object all too soon, and reluctantly headed back for shore. When I was waist deep, I tossed the object to Wakka as the group quickly came up to the shoreline, not even waiting for me to reach it before bombarding me with comments and questions.

"Thanks, Riku!"

"Wow, Riku, that was so great!" I quirked an eyebrow at Selphie, "Retrieving a ball from the water isn't anything special..."

"No, but moving like a fish is!" Tidus grinned as he smacked his hand across my back, and my heart skipped a beat. "What?" I asked, trying to remain calm, and hide the nervousness from my voice. "You were swimming really fast, ya?" Wakka said as he looked to the others, who all nodded with looks of awe still on their faces.

"I couldn't even walk over here from my house before you got back," everyone looked over to see Kairi walking up, "I saw you jump in when I stepped out of my front door, and your were back before I could get here." She smiled innocently, but I suddenly felt sick. In my state of bliss, I surfaced 'for air' but I forgot to keep my speed at a minimum—shit. "Well, guess I better go dry off. It's getting late anyway. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" I quickly moved to retrieve my shirt, then ran off to my house as the others threw their parting words at my back. I reached the safety of my home with a loud slam of the front door. The loud noise didn't matter, despite what the others thought, I live alone here.

Aloud sigh escapes from my body before I begin to search through my dresser. 'I definitely need this now…Especially after that stupid mistake. They're going to be sending harpoons through me if I'm not careful.' I felt my brows furrow in frustration as the object of my search was eluding me. "Strange…" I muttered to myself as my pace quickened along with my heartbeat. Before I knew it, I was proceeding to tear my house apart. "Damnit!" I heard myself yell out in frustration as I also managed to make a lovely hole in my wall. Greeeaat. Not only did I slip today, I've punched a gaping hole in my wall, AND I've lost a fucking part of **myself**! "_AAARRRGGG_!" I slid to my knees in despair. 'If I can't find it…I'll never be able to fully return home…and if someone's stolen it…" a violent shudder passed through my body. "I don't even want to think about what would happen to me then…" I weakly pushed myself up onto my bed and many tears eventually lulled me into the darkness that is sleep.

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((AN: So…Good? Bad? Reviews pleeeaase! Also, I believe I spelled that fruit tree's name wrong…Anyone know/remember the correct spelling?))


	2. Bound

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

**Warnings:** AU,OOC… language, and shounen-ai…'Tis all for now.

**Note:** I wrote the majority of this chapter a while back, when I was having quite a bad day. -.-; Sorry it's so short, but I'll have to get back into the swing of Kingdom Hearts in order not to completely ruin this story.

**Chapter 02**: Bound

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Riku woke abruptly to the aggravating noise of something pounding on his front door, "Hello? Anyone home?" came a familiar voice that Riku wasn't in the mood to face, but he got up and groggily headed for the door. He cracked open the door slightly, only to have to squint in order to identify the cause of the disturbance of his sleep, "Sora…? What do you want?" The boy gave him a sheepish grin,

"You've been inside all day, and you seemed to be upset yesterday…I also never got to—Where are your parents?" Sora had somehow managed to see beyond Riku through the small crack that Riku was peering out through and Riku wasn't able to repress an irritated sigh, "They're not here. Left for a vacation…out at sea." Sora's eyes widened slightly, "They went on a vacation off the island—WITHOUT you?" It was hard to say if the boy was shocked for the fact that Riku's parents had the gall to leave him behind or whether he was amazed that they left him alone at home. Riku merely gave a grumpy nod, not really wishing to carry on this meaningless conversation, "If you're done, I'm going back to bed." He made a move to shut the door, but Sora somehow managed to fit his foot in the doorway to stop him,

"No! …I mean…I still haven't told you…Well…I found something odd, and I thought it might be yours…" Riku's heart skipped a beat, but he kept a calm composure, "Something odd? What…exactly was it?" The other boy seemed to sigh in relief at having caught the older teen's interest, "It's some item of clothing. Really strange materia—" Sora was cut off as Riku made a violent lunge for his shirt, and he yelled with Sora's shirt crumpled up within his fist, "Where is it?" Poor Sora looked scared out of his wits upon seeing his, normally calm, friend suddenly filled with such (seemingly) unexplained rage. As he was at a loss for words, Riku slowly regained his composure and released Sora's shirt, "Sorry…Can you let me see it?" his voice was strained into a forced calm. The other with bright cerulean eyes slowly nodded before lowly saying, "I'll show you…You might want to put on some pants first…" Now he was slightly red as Riku looked down to see that he was only wearing boxers. With a shrug he turned inside and got dressed after Sora shut his front door for him.

A few minutes later, Riku emerged to find Sora sitting just in front of his door and he jerked up into a standing position upon seeing the silver-haired one. The walk to wherever Sora was leading them had an uncomfortable silence that continued to hang heavy in the air until Sora stopped in front of a small, slightly hidden cave that was by a tree. He pointed inside when Riku gave him a questioning glare, "I put it in here so no one would mess with it." Riku walked into the cave with Sora silently following in his wake.

The tunnel had a surreal feel to it as it led deep into the side of a cave, but seemed to glow slightly, giving birth to a soft turquoise light. White scribbles seemed to cover almost every spot on the walls when the cave reached a dead-end. Sora and Kairi had been here many times in their earlier years, while Riku had never visited quite so often. Thus, most of the scribbles were not a product of his own hand, but the other two. As Riku gazed around the place, Sora bent down behind a rock to reach into a space that normally never would be noticed. Riku glanced at him casually, but his heart stopped for a second when Sora pulled out a pair of pants a navy blue in hue, but they seemed to be composed of a strange material indeed.

Riku's mouth moved, but no sound came forth and Sora looked on with shock upon seeing his friend's face pale so harshly. Just as Sora was about to say something, Riku fell to his knees and hung his head as he said in a low voice, "Are you the one that found them, or did someone else pick them up first?" Sora blinked for a moment, as this seemed like an odd question to him while Riku was brutally kicking himself repeatedly, mentally, for being so stupid as to let something like this happen. "Er…I found them…They had fallen out of your bag the other day…And I picked them up, but you'd already left."

"What do you want from me?"

"What?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Riku, what are you…" Sora trailed off as Riku had looked up at him with a defeated look of sadness filling his turquoise eyes. In the light of the cave, he seemed almost ethereal. His thoughtless staring was broken when Riku spoke with a voice that seemed like it would soon break, "You…Don't know what it is you hold, do you?" Almost immediately, Sora shook his head, "I thought they were just a pair of odd pants…until you said that." Riku gave him a look of sorrowful pity before he stood and suddenly made himself very close to Sora and whispered into his ear, "What is it that you desire from me in return for that item?" Even if he hadn't made himself that close, Sora blushed for the sheer tone in which Riku had just stated that question. Seeing as how he'd stolen Sora's tongue for the moment, Riku continued in his soft whisper, "Whether you or I like it or not, I am now bound to you. To do whatever you may ask of me. I may never return home for any period of time without your consent."

Sora's eyes widened slightly as his words sunk in and he stuttered out, "B-but why?" Riku merely slid the odd garment from Sora's hand and exchanged it for his pants and boxers that he'd been wearing before hand. Sora was quite red as Riku placed the two items of clothing his hand and headed for the cave's exit, calling over his shoulder, "Follow me…I'll show you my secret." The day was as bright as ever and the sea was a brilliant mix of blues and greens. Riku led Sora down a path that was not trodden on by many people and this path led to a little cove. The cove was hidden from all other views in every direction except from the ocean.

"Riku, what're you…?" Riku was heading for the water, but he first stripped off his shirt and tossed it at Sora as well.

"I've never shown anyone else this, but being bound to you, it is something I have to do." With that, Riku stepped onto wet sand, just before a wave washed over his body. He shrunk in height greatly, and Sora was afraid he'd been caught off balance when hit, but his breath was taken away at the sight he saw instead. Riku was within the extreme shallows and looking up at him, no different from before. The thing that took his breath away was that right where the odd pants had stopped, not too far below Riku's navel, navy blue scales formed and his legs had been switched for a pair of fins that closely resembled something Sora had seen out of a fairy tale book. "R-Riku, you're a-a—"

"A merman, yes," Riku lifted his tail slightly for a moment as to prove it wasn't fake. He then turned his head to look longingly out at the sea, how could he have ended up in a mess like this? He'd probably never see his true home ever again. He tore his gaze away from the sea as he heard a few soft splashes when Sora walked up next to him, ignoring the fact that he was getting his clothes wet, and bent down to get a closer look at Riku. Sora reached out a tentative hand towards the fin and Riku tensed, but said nothing, and Sora stopped as if he suddenly realized what he was about to do. The hand went back to his side as he looked Riku in the eyes. Riku returned this gaze into the eyes of his favorite hue, but could not help but feel horribly miserable. The moment Sora had laid hand on his 'outfit,' the boy might as well have put him in chains and a cage. At least, that's how Riku felt at the moment. Sora was not thinking of keeping his friend away from anything, or even of what he'd just learned about the older boy. He was gazing into eyes that seemed thoroughly filled with despair.

"If…" Sora's voice was small at first to the point where Riku wasn't quite sure if he heard him at all, "If it will make you feel better…You can most definitely swim here." Riku's heart lifted slightly, and he didn't even bother to thank the other boy before he slipped into deeper waters quicker than a crab ducking into its hole. Riku just knew this small amount of freedom wouldn't last long, and he was going to abuse Sora's beginning naivety to the fullest. Sora's heart sank slightly when Riku made no reply at all, but his slight depression was soon forgotten as he watched the agile creature before him swim about in what seemed to be a state of bliss. 'No wonder he could swim so well…' Sora thought as he continued to watch, enjoying the show that wasn't being done, in truth, for his pleasure at all. For Riku was solely focused on his happiness at the moment, and everything else on his mind washed away with every flick of his tail. The feel, color, and his form were almost enough to overload his system that had been deprived of this paradise for so long. There was only thing missing from this scene, and only one person who made it impossible for that last piece of the picture to fall into place.

"Riku…?" He didn't have to be above water to hear the faint, feeble call for he would hear it from now on, no matter his location. Almost instantly, he appeared at Sora's feet in the shallows, up as straight as his tail would allow on land, "You called?" Sora made a slight face at his friend's tone as he had the tone of a reluctant slave, "Um…I hear the others calling around for us…How will…?"

"As soon as my tail dries, it will return to the form of those so-called pants." The silver-haired merman pulled himself away from the waves and into a patch of sun. Within a matter of minutes, his legs had almost completely returned to 'normal.' Riku then stood, not suppressing a sigh as he rose up, "We better get going before they get too close to this place." Sora nodded slightly, standing up himself. He then realized he still held Riku's clothing, "Oh, here. Almost forgot I had these." Riku took them without a word and began to head towards the voices. Sora couldn't help but pout slightly at his friend's back. If finding those pants meant his friendship with Riku being ruined, he wished he'd never found them at all.

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((AN: Writer's block…evil! ….Bah, anyway. Good? Bad? Reviews please. If no one likes how this is going so far, there's not point in me busting my brain trying to continue.))


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